Visiting the Crandall Museum

Last semester, I was able to visit the Crandall Printing museum. Here are my thoughts I recorded after attending:

I enjoyed the Crandall museum much more than I thought it would. I've been to the printing office at Nauvoo several times, so I didn't think I'd learn much. I must say I did enjoy whispering to a friend of mine several facts/comments I had learned in Nauvoo right before the guides said them, but even more, I enjoyed the artifacts that they had there. Every room held something that cannot be found in any other museum in the world.

Another thing I enjoyed about my experience is that it was made even more evident to me how much of a miracle the printing of the Book of Mormon was. It's amazing that the printing was able to be finished so quickly. In 7 months, they were able to print 5,000 copies of the book. That's an average of about 24 books worth of pages a day. It is another testament to me that it truly is a book of God. 5000 was a ridiculous amount of books to be printed at the time. A book binder who visited the museum did not at first believe that so many copies of the Book of Mormon could possibly have been printed in that first printing. He was confident that the guide must have been mistaken and accidentally said 5,000 instead of 500.

Another miracle to me was that the church was able to finance the book. If Joseph had not been positioned near Martin Harris, he would never have been able to come up with the money to ensure that the printer would be paid for his labor.

One thing that was stressed was how much of an influence Gutenburg had on the world. His invention remained for the most part unchanged for hundreds of years. With it, the Bible was printed, making it available for more than just the most wealthy people. The Book of Mormon was printed through the same invention.

In my stake a few years ago, we celebrated the ac175th anniversary of the first printing of the Book of Mormon and the organization of the church by giving away, as a stake, 5,000 copies of the book to represent the 5,000 books that were first printing. This was a really cool experience for me. I only gave away one or two copies, but this reenactment of sorts was a really good way for our stake to connect ourselves with our heritage.

At the Crandall Printing Museum, I was once again reminded of how much God is in control of the universe. In the 1400's, He was preparing for the printing of the Book of Mormon by inspiring Gutenberg to create a printing press with movable type. In 1825, only 5 years before the printing of the Book of Mormon, the Eerie Canal was opened, letting a printing press be more easily shipped to the town where Joseph was living. God knows what he's doing, and he prepares the way for His work to be accomplished.

Whether By Mine Own Voice

D&C 1:38 states: “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” This scripture is found in the very first section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the preface to the book. This revelation was given in 1831, but I don't believe that Joseph Smith understood the depth of its verity until after the time he spent in Liberty jail, when the saints lived in Nauvoo. Though Joseph grew up very familiar with the stories of prophets in the Bible, he did not fully understand the role that Latter-day prophets would have in his dispensation until then. Liberty jail, as I, and many others before me, have commented on, was like a temple as well as a prison. Joseph was able to stop and think and listen to God in those terrible, but stagnant times. Before Joseph's time in Liberty Jail, revelations given that were later canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants were usually prefaced with “Thus sayeth the Lord”, or something similar. After Joseph left Liberty Jail, his sermons became scripture, just as we consider the most recent General Conference issue of the Ensign. Joseph realized that he had the same role in today's world as Paul in the New Testament or Moses in the Old Testament or Jacob in the Book of Mormon. As a sustained prophet, seer, translator, and revelator, whatever he spoke while acting in those roles was what the Lord was talking about when he said, “whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

Establishment of the High Council

This week for my D&C class I was asked to read the minutes from the meeting in which the High council was organized in Kirtland on February 17, 1834 from the Revelations and Translations series of the Joseph Smith Papers. An edited version of these minutes can be found in section 102 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

This council was created to settle disputes in the church. I think it's very interesting how much of a judicial system there is in the church. Joseph Smith definitely had reason to dislike the courtroom. He was often accused of crimes which he did not commit, and was even brought to court for crimes he had already been acquitted for...more than once. One might think that these experiences would lead the prophet to either have a very limited or nonexistent judicial system in the church. However, the opposite is true. I think that, while Joseph believed essentially in the structure of the country, he realized that, in practice, it was not run how it was intended, and in consequence, Joseph was treated very unfairly by the law.

The system of judging set forth in section 102 is very interesting in how much emphasis there is on ensuring that the person on trial is judged fairly. For example, each of the council members is told to draw a number to determine the speaking order, and whoever draws even numbers has to speak for the defendant. Also, both the accuser and the accused are granted the right to speak to the council after the evidences are put forth. The president of the council then makes a decision, which must be unanimously sanctioned by the other members, or else there will be a re-hearing.

One thing I found interesting when studying the difference between the earliest version of this text and the canonized version was the very end of the section. In the Joseph Smith Papers, this line reads: “The council then adjournd to meet on wednesday the 19th Inst. At 10 O'cl'k A.M.” Today in the D&C, and also in the 1835 version of the Doctrine and Covenants, it reads: “After prayer the conference adjourned.” I thought it was interesting that when the minutes were edited for church wide publication, it was important to add that they ended with a prayer. Even though this council held a more government-like role in the church, it was very important to do everything unto the Lord and always have His spirit with them, and I believe it was very important for the saints to see that as a model for their lives.

The Image Speaks

Last Wednesday, our D&C class went to the art museum instead of holding normal class. One painting I spent some time by was called “Christ, The Good Shepherd”, by Christian Olsen.

I paid much more attention to this painting this time through the exhibit than when I saw it last semester. One thing I noticed was the sheep at Jesus' left side. I didn't focus on this sheep the first time I looked at this painting, but last week it specifically jumped out at me. The sheep appears to me to be the mother of the lamb in the Savior's arms. This made me think about whether the sheep was wondering if her baby would be safe in the master's arms, or if she knew that there is no safer place than in His arms. Can we trust our loved ones to the Savior's care?

Another painting I liked very much was Ron Richmond's “Devotion”. I didn't really appreciate this picture fully the first time I saw this painting. I didn't really grasp what it was trying to convey. The thing I really love about it though is how, no matter where you stand in the room in relation to the painting, you always feel like you're practically in the painting One reason for this is that the glass of water is painted in a much more realistic style than the rest of the painting, so looking at it, you feel that the water is real, and you are in the painting in front of the glass of water, looking at a painting in a church. Also, because of the length of the glass and the angles formed by the rim of the glass and the table, you feel like you must be very close to the glass, because if you weren't, the glass would slide right off the front of the table. The painting puts you in the position of someone actually there in the church, an active participant in worship, not a passive spectator watching someone else worship.

I'm glad I was given a chance to re-study these paintings and come to a greater appreciation of them. Art, like the gospel, is something we come to understand little by little. Just as reading the scriptures once is not enough to understand everything that can be gained from studying them, paintings rarely convey their whole message in one glance.

Comfort From the Olive Branch

Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants was called by Joseph Smith the “olive leaf...plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord's message of peace to us.” This was the perfect section for me to read and blog on this week, as I happen to be especially needing comfort this week.

My favorite part of this section is how much clarification it gives about the degrees of glory. Verse 22 says, “For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory”. This and surrounding scriptures give me so much insight into the judgment and life after death. The Plan of Salvation is much more merciful than we can comprehend. Placement in different degrees of glory is more about what sort of life we are prepared to live after death than our credentials. Everyone has been born into different circumstances and is given different opportunities, the opportunities that will give that person the chance to grow the most. God does everything He can to help us progress, but He will not force us. He cannot. In the end, we will all obtain the degree of glory that we will be most comfortable in. If you can't keep the celestial law, you will not be able to stand the celestial glory, you will only be comfortable in a lower degree. God wishes we could all obtain celestial glory, but just as the Israelites of old rejected the chance to be in the presence of God, there will be those at judgment who will reject the fullness of the blessings they could have obtained.

Another part of this section that I really like is verses 87-98ish. I have always been very fascinated by and excited for the end of the world. I have always loved how specific some of these prophesies about the future are. I am so excited to watch these last events unfold, and hope I am still on the earth to witness them. The world will become more and more wicked, and it will become increasingly hard to keep the commandments, but it will be such an amazing opportunity for growth and we will see miracles if we look out for them.

It has given me comfort to study this section. Reading it has reminded me of the depth of God's love for me and the depth and intricacy, yet simplicity of His plan of happiness for us. I cannot wait to receive the many blessings God has in store for me. I now have to be patient and stay faithfully engaged in the cause of zion as I await those promised blessings.